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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Guest: Mary L. Hamilton's Evil Messages

When my daughter, Becky, was very
young, she had a close friend with whom she played nearly every day. One day,
Becky came to me with a hurt expression, saying her friend had called her
selfish.

“Well, are you?” I asked.

My question caught Becky by
surprise. Expecting sympathy, she was instead forced to think about her
actions. But a moment later, she shook her head.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I don’t think you are either,” I
said, “but I wanted to make sure you
know you’re not selfish.” I explained that her friend must be either ignorant
or lying. If she was ignorant, Becky needed to act in ways that would show her
friend how unselfish she was. But if she was lying, then she was purposely
trying to make Becky look and feel bad, and the friendship would need to be re-evaluated.

Our adversary uses every method he
can to plant his evil messages in our hearts and minds. Malicious, discouraging,
and belittling words come at us through the media, entertainment, the office,
and sometimes even our own home. The words can be subtle, like the beauty ads
that make us believe we’re lacking in a particular area. Or they can be as
obvious and damaging as any knife, cutting straight to our very heart and
damaging our soul.

Just because we hear the enemy’s
words doesn’t mean we have to listen to them. Like Becky, we need to ask
ourselves if there’s any truth to the accusation. If the answer is yes, we must
first deal with that. But if the answer is no, we need to recognize it as a lie
and reject what it tells us. The enemy is a master at making us feel worthless,
unimportant, and incompetent, but everything he says is a lie. In fact, lying is
his native language. (John 8:44)

On the other hand, God wants us to
know the truth. Take a look at what His word says.

I am God’s treasured possession.
(Deuteronomy 7:6)

I am fearfully and wonderfully
made, knit together in the womb by God himself. (Psalm 139:13-14)

My name is engraved on the palm of
God’s hands. (Isaiah 49:16)

God has lavished His great love on
me and called me His child. (1 John 3:1)

God showed His love for me in
sending His son Jesus to die for me while I was living in sin. (Romans 5:8)

God chose me and I am holy and
blameless in His sight. (Ephesians 1:4)

There is no condemnation for me
because I am in Christ. (Romans 8:1)

God’s grace is enough for me
because His power is displayed perfectly in my weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:8)

Because I look to the Lord, I am
radiant and my face is never covered with shame. (Psalm 34:5)

The next time you’re hearing evil lies, counter
them with these truths.

♥♥♥♥♥GIVEAWAY♥♥♥♥♥

The winner receives a copy of her book,Hear No Evil. Would you like a Kindle copy? What about a paperback? It's winner's choice. Leave a comment about the blog with your email address. In a week, I'll draw for the lucky winner.Anne Gooch is the WINNER!!!CONGRATULATIONS, ANNE!

About the Book:

“Hear No Evil” by Mary L. Hamilton is Book One of the ‘Rustic Knolls
Bible Camp’ Series. Release date:
November 5, 2013

Summer camp is no fun for Brady McCaul. The girl with the cute dimples
thinks he’s immature and childish. The camp bully targets him with cruel taunts
and teasing, and flips Brady’s canoe to keep him from winning the race. But
worst of all, his mom won’t let him come home. She doesn’t want him living with
her anymore. Brady wonders if even God cares about him.

Can Brady figure out what he did to earn Mom’s rejection and change her mind
by week’s end? Or will he have to live with his workaholic dad, the guy who
left when Brady was seven?

All seems lost until a surprising secret changes
everything.

About the Author:

Mary
L. Hamilton is a graduate of two Long Ridge Writers Group courses, and a member
of American Christian Fiction Writers. Her articles have been published in
Seek, Discipleship Journal, The Christian Reader, Messenger and the previous
print version of Today’s Christian Woman, as well as the Katy Times and the
Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune newspapers, both in Texas. Her Christmas play
titled “Homespun Angel” was performed at the Evangelical Free Church of
Naperville, Illinois before being published by Eldridge Publishing in 2000. Mary grew up at a Christian youth camp in
southern Wisconsin, much like the setting for her debut middle-grade novel, “Hear No Evil.”